Earlier this week, news broke that Jonathan Majors had filed a complaint with law enforcement against his ex, alleging that she had abused him, rather than the other way around. The Internet was divided: did this new development exonerate the Marvel star? Or is it a case of DARVO (deny, attack, reverse victim and offender)? A new three-month Rolling Stone investigation sheds fresh light on the situation. The outlet spoke with more than 40 people, including some who’ve been in association with Majors for a decade, and more than a dozen who have attested to him emotionally and/or physically abusing previous romantic partners.
Majors strangled one previous partner, according to nine sources, and subjected another to “emotional torture,” as she described to friends. (Neither woman spoke to Rolling Stone, one of them citing fear of retaliation.) Claims of volatile behavior are not limited to Majors’ romantic relationships. Some sources allege that he’s also been violent, intimidating, and aggressive on set, including for the upcoming film Magazine Dreams, where he is said to have pushed one person and screamed at another. Classmates from the Yale School of Drama describe “several altercations and confrontations” with Majors in the program that led to the administration sending an email “reminder about rehearsal etiquette and violence.”
In response to the investigation, Majors’ legal team sent Rolling Stone six character witnesses from women the actor had dated or was close with in the past, including his girlfriend from the age 13 to 18, who asserted “He is not violent in any way.” However, three of these women told RS they did not give his team permission to release their statements, and one of them outright said the statement was “not truthful.”
Overall, the report paints a picture of someone who can be charming and sweet, but “could also be really cold, scary, and violent,” as one classmate described. Another production source observed that Majors seemed to take a “sick pleasure” out of making female crew members cry, targeting “people who he could tell would be too afraid to stand up for themselves.” Majors has denied all allegations of domestic abuse, and his on-set behavior has been attributed to Method acting. But a source told the outlet, “No one is surprised that this is coming out. It always felt like it was a matter of time because his behavior never changed. He’s kind of a bad dude, and now it’s just catching up with him.”
You can read the full report here.